Thursday, April 30, 2009

Gifts for Book Lovers?

I listen to a fantastic (in my opinion) podcast called Books on the Nightstand. In their most recent podcast (linked here) they talk about how sometimes people fear giving books to big-time readers because they don't know their specific reading interests, don't know which books they've already read, or some other road block.

I ran up against this Monday night when trying to buy a work anniversary gift for one of the nurses I work with. I know she loves to read, we talk about what she's reading--right now she's on a classics kick--but I don't know what she's already read or bought (and plans to read).

It was weird because I used to think that I, being a big reader, would always love to get books as gifts because you just couldn't go wrong. Now I realize that may not be true because: 1) I have a TON of books I've already bought that are on my shelf to be read and it would be a waste of your money to buy me one of those; and 2) I am particular in what I read and it's likely to be a waste of your money to buy me something just on a whim at the store.

That being said, I maintain my GoodReads.com account with a category called "Wish List" (books I want to read that I haven't yet procured). Is it in bad form to direct people to that for gift ideas? Does that take the fun out of gift giving?

No - I think its fine, especially for family members and the like, who you know are going to get you something, so it might as well be something you want. As an architect, I have gotten a lifetime supply of Frank Lloyd Wright books so at one point I created a list of off-beat architecture books people could buy me if they felt inclined to get me a book on architecture. I had a great Christmas that year!